Cal Poly goes on night shift, World War II week by week

January 7, 1942
First Lt. Nelson Herbert Russell of San Luis Obispo is a prisoner of the Japanese in the Philippine Islands, it was announced yesterday by the War Department.
Formerly employed for three years by the county welfare office in San Luis Obispo, Lieutenant Russell was a member of the Army Reserves and entered active service in December 1940.
His wife and 13-year-old daughter, Allison Russell, are residing in San Luis Obispo at 673 Santa Rosa St.
Lieutenant Russell is one of 49 California officers who were listed among 336 American soldiers being held by the Japanese in the Philippines.
The complete list mentioned army personnel from 46 states and the District of Columbia, including 334 officers, one enlisted man and one warrant officer.

Two hundred naval aviation cadets “came aboard ship” at the Navy Flight Preparatory school on the California Polytechnic college campus late last night and early this morning as the first group to be sent here for “pre-pre flight” training.
Navy tradition demands that the training school be considered a “ship” and the lives of cadets during their three months training period and will be governed by strict navy discipline and their routine will be nautical in terminology if not in fact. The cadets will wear civilian clothing for an indefinite period, until cadet uniforms are provided.

Three of the 200 were local men: Robert Ray Lyon, son of judge Ray Lyon, Joseph John Navoni, and John Gilbert Tolle. The school would take on an additional 200 cadets per month until the 600 maximum was reached.
Agricultural and industrial students went on the “night shift” with lectures and laboratory courses held from 6 to 10 p.m. to make way for the navy.

President Franklin Roosevelt address a cheering joint session of congress promising that the allied powers would hit the Axis hard.
“The arsenal of democracy is making good,” said Roosevelt.
“Yes, the Nazis and the Fascists have asked for it—and they are going to get it.”
He spoke of the increase in military production and the still hard work that was ahead. The president was hopeful that the war could be won as early as 1944 and was already preparing listeners for the world after war by describing the war objective as a decent and durable peace. At this point United Press news articles do not use the term Allies, they have from the earliest days called them the United Nations, long before that term was used for a separate organization.